


drip drip

by bambirouge



Series: from friends [2]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: ??????? - Freeform, M/M, Making Out, Roommates, Wax Play, but it's p tame entry level stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:53:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25140436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bambirouge/pseuds/bambirouge
Summary: The third hour, Jeonghan sits up, lights a new candle—one of the tall ones in glass from Soonyoung’s bedroom—and throws Vernon a grin.“I dare you to dip your finger in there.”
Relationships: Chwe Hansol | Vernon/Yoon Jeonghan, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Seokmin | DK
Series: from friends [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1819606
Comments: 23
Kudos: 70





	drip drip

**Author's Note:**

  * For [infrequency](https://archiveofourown.org/users/infrequency/gifts).



> hi carina. i swear wax play was not the first thing i thought of when you prompted me this. tits to the wind i guess!!

It’s a little after eight at night when the lights go out.

Vernon is in the living room, half asleep on the couch as the faint sound of one of those aesthetically pleasing cooking videos warbles through his laptop speakers. The change in lighting makes him sit up, suddenly surrounded by darkness save for the glow of his computer screen, and he hears Soonyoung and Jeonghan’s voices go quiet down the hallway. For three long seconds, everything is still in the warm summer soup of the dark, and Vernon can hear his own heart beating.

“Did the power go out?”

It’s Soonyoung’s voice from the hall, and Vernon squints at his outline. When he opens his mouth to respond, thunder shakes the building, and when he looks out the window, the sky lights up white.

“I think so.” He closes his laptop, puts it to the side, stretches his legs. “Must be the storm.”

“Must be.” Jeonghan’s voice is soft next to Soonyoung’s, although the two of them had been shrieking in laughter just five minutes before. Vernon watches his silhouette go to the window and bend down to peer out of it.

“Shit.” Soonyoung’s face, illuminated by his phone screen, becomes an island in the dark room. “Seokmin’s home alone. I bet he’s freaking out.”

“Do you need to go over there?”

“I probably should.” Soonyoung brings his phone up to his cheek. “Hi, babe. Yeah, I’m home. No, no, I’m coming. I’ll be there in a few. Just hold on, I’ll be right there.” He hangs up and then heads for the door. “I’ll probably stay over, so, see y’all tomorrow.”

“Give him a smooch for me,” Vernon says with a grin.

“Will do, mildew.”

Vernon turns to the window after Soonyoung leaves, where Jeonghan is still watching the lightning.

“So...” Vernon begins. It’s been two weeks since Jeonghan moved in but Vernon still feels nervous around him, especially when Soonyoung isn’t there. “Should we...maybe get a flashlight or something?”

Jeonghan laughs lightly, his profile carved out in front of the window. He’s frightening objectively, but the way he makes Vernon’s pulse speed up makes him ten times more terrifying.

“That’s not very _romantic_ ,” Jeonghan says, wiggling his shoulders on the word. “You guys have to own some candles, right?”

Vernon’s face is burning but he nods anyway. “Uh—um, yeah. I think we do.” He flees to the kitchen and kneels in front of the cupboards, taking a deep, clarifying breath. There’s an unopened bag of tealights next to the cleaning supplies, and a box of matches in the junk drawer. Vernon steps back into the living room with his conquests to find Jeonghan sitting next to the window now, legs folded under himself.

“Poor Seok. I bet he’s afraid of fireworks, too.”

Vernon chuckles as he places the candles and the matches on the coffee table and scoots it over to where Jeonghan sits.

“Yeah, but Soonyoung likes protecting him. They really are a perfect match.” He rips open the pack and takes out a couple of candles, then struggles to light a match. “Fuck.”

“Here. Let me.” Suddenly Jeonghan is at Vernon’s side, taking the box of matches from his trembling fingers. He lights one and Vernon’s breath skips at how it makes him look, all sharp and warm and confidential.

“I remember that,” Jeonghan says as he lights the candles. He waves the match in the air to extinguish it and Vernon’s eyes get stuck on the curve of his wrist. “He was the same way with me. But I think I wound up protecting him a lot more than the other way around.”

This isn’t uncommon, one of them bringing up their relationship, but it still catches Vernon off guard every time. He attempts to move past it gracefully.

“I try to humor him. I think we split it fifty-fifty.”

Jeonghan smiles, illuminated orange. “You’re a good friend, Vernon. I’m glad he met you.”

And Vernon supposes that’s just how Jeonghan is, a constant whirlwind of emotional whiplash. He tries to stand his ground but something in him has been sliding into motion ever since Jeonghan walked into the apartment for the first time, untouchable and followed by a feeling of danger that shook up Vernon’s insides.

“I...thanks,” he says, which is lame, so he adds, “I know you mean a lot to him, so. I’m glad I have your seal of approval.”

For a second he wonders if he’s gone too far, but Jeonghan’s smile just grows wider.

“Jeonghan approved.”

“Yeah, Jeonghan approved.”

Vernon feels skittish with Jeonghan’s eyes on him, but something warm in the pit of his stomach urges Jeonghan to never look away.

“Let’s get drunk, Vernon.”

Vernon coughs. “Huh?”

“We still have some of that Malibu from Soonie’s birthday, right?”

Vernon can only watch as Jeonghan gets up and disappears into the kitchen, returning with a bottle and two shot glasses.

“Come on,” he says, “what else are we going to do until the power comes back on?”

“I, uh...” Vernon looks around at the darkness, at the little oasis he and Jeonghan have created in the middle of the living room. He shrugs. “I guess you’re right.”

Jeonghan grins and pours them a shot each, holding his up for a toast.

“To...” he thinks for a moment. “...new roommates. And new friends.”

“Hear, hear.”

Vernon knocks his back, and when he comes down Jeonghan is watching him; the flicker in his eyes is intent, almost hungry. Vernon’s walking right into a trap, but he has no desire to turn around.

The first hour is fine. Jeonghan plays some music from his phone— _not too loud,_ Vernon tells him, _the neighbors_ —and between shots they exchange stories about Soonyoung. Like:

“Oh, man. I’m sure you know about the Soonyoung-pants-ripping saga.”

Jeonghan nods. “Of course.”

“Well, before he and Seokmin got together, Seok once gave him a piggyback ride that resulted in his pants ripping, like, all the way up. _All_ the way.”

Jeonghan scrunches up his nose as he laughs. “He was wearing bad underwear, right? Please tell me he was.”

Vernon nods solemnly. “Tigers,” he says, and Jeonghan falls to the floor.

Even the second hour isn’t that bad, although they abandon the Malibu. They lie on the floor and talk quietly, their sentences running over and into and on top of and around each other.

“I know he wishes I would’ve called him when things got bad,” Jeonghan murmurs. His head is next to Vernon’s but they’re lying in opposite directions, like the cover of a bad teen movie. “But I needed time to get out of there myself. Like, mentally.”

“I think he’s just glad you’re back here,” Vernon replies. “Before you moved, you were all he talked about.”

“Yeah.” Jeonghan sighs. “It is good to be back. Sometimes running away is self-care.”

Vernon exhales a laugh. “I never thought about it like that.”

The third hour, Jeonghan sits up, lights a new candle—one of the tall ones in glass from Soonyoung’s bedroom—and throws Vernon a grin.

“I dare you to dip your finger in there.”

Most of the buzz has worn off, but Vernon’s head still spins at the sight of Jeonghan’s tongue running along the edge of his teeth. He swallows the nerves revving to life in his throat.

“What?”

“In the candle wax. Have you ever tried it?”

“I mean, like, as a kid, yeah.” Vernon furrows his brow. “Why?”

“I always thought it felt kind of nice.”

Vernon watches, slack-jawed, as Jeonghan takes his index finger and dips it into the pool of wax surrounding the wick, then hisses.

“You’re so...” Vernon starts with a laugh, but then Jeonghan looks at him again and he can’t think of the word.

“I’m what?”

The look on Jeonghan’s face is deadly sweet. Vernon shuts his mouth and lets his eyes wander to the candle, which almost seems to be laughing at him, like it’s condemning him for the way he sweats whenever Jeonghan is around. He mimics Jeonghan, goes for the wax with one finger raised and when it burns him a little he clenches his teeth, every square inch of his skin on high alert. A film of wax forms on the tip of his finger and he wiggles it playfully in Jeonghan’s direction.

“Quit,” Jeonghan says through breathy giggles, although he makes no move to lean away.

“You’re right,” Vernon replies as he examines the wax cap on his finger. “It does feel kind of nice.”

“I used to—” Vernon hears Jeonghan’s breath hitch but when he looks over, Jeonghan is averting his eyes. He wraps a hand around the candle, then brings his wrist toward it, facing up so the delicate skin of his inner wrist is exposed. When he holds the candle over his wrist and drips the wax onto it, Vernon erupts into goosebumps, as if he were the one getting burned.

Jeonghan smiles up at him while the wax runs from his wrist onto the table. Vernon suddenly feels on edge, like he’s ready for a fight or a marathon or—

Or. Jeonghan’s teeth catch the skin of his lip.

“Do you want to try?”

Wordlessly, Vernon nods and offers his wrist. Jeonghan takes the candle again, his gaze locked on Vernon’s, and slowly, intentionally, tips it to the side. It’s more of a sting this time, but it makes Vernon’s skin sizzle—not just on his wrist, but up his arm, through his shoulders, and down his spine. He makes a little sound in the back of his throat because he can’t help himself, really, not when it already feels like his every nerve is on fire and when Jeonghan’s fingernail is tracing the outline of the wax on his wrist. Before he knows what he’s doing, he reaches out with his other hand to latch onto the fold at the knee of Jeonghan’s jeans.

Jeonghan puts the candle on the table. He looks back at Vernon, then traces a finger down the length of Vernon’s arm until he reaches his hand. Vernon is stock still as Jeonghan leans in to press his lips to the corner of his jaw.

“Didn’t think you’d like it _that_ much,” he says into Vernon’s ear.

“It’s that obvious, huh?”

“You’re easier to read than a first-grade quiz, Vernon.” Jeonghan breathes laughter against Vernon’s jaw, then plants a kiss next to his chin. Vernon is getting light-headed from how fast he’s breathing, and it doesn’t help when Jeonghan smooths his palm up Vernon’s chest.

“Please,” Vernon whispers. Jeonghan’s hand is rising and falling and rising and falling over his lungs, over his heart.

“Please what?”

“Please kiss me.”

This earns a fuller laugh and another press of Jeonghan’s mouth to his neck.

“Okay,” Jeonghan replies, finally, and then grabs the front of his shirt to pull him in.

Once Vernon starts, he can’t get enough. He has half a thought that this is the worst idea he’s ever had, kissing his best friend’s ex two weeks after he moves in, but when Jeonghan smiles and their teeth clack together Vernon only wraps his arms around Jeonghan’s waist and pulls him closer. Then Jeonghan is in his lap as they lean against the couch, tangling his hands in Vernon’s hair.

“Earlier,” Vernon gasps as Jeonghan kisses down his throat, “what I was going to say about you...”

“Yes?” Jeonghan’s voice sends another shiver through Vernon’s entire body. He can’t seem to stop trembling tonight.

“You’re so...” Vernon tucks some of Jeonghan’s hair behind his ear. “...unusual.”

He’s met with a smile. “Am I?”

“And terrifying.” He kisses Jeonghan slowly, wetly. “And sexy.”

“Good.”

“It’s been really hard to live with you.”

Again, he earns Jeonghan’s laughter, just before he leans back down to catch Vernon’s lips again.

“Like I said. First. Grade. Quiz.”

He leads Vernon back over to the coffee table, taking hold of the candle again. He hooks one finger into the collar of Vernon’s t-shirt and pulls it back so his collarbone is exposed.

“Do you want to try some here?”

“Yes, please.” And just like that Jeonghan’s hands are under his shirt, pulling it over his head.

“Tell me if it’s too much.”

He brings the candle near Vernon’s face and Vernon’s stomach clenches in anticipation, the flame almost too hot next to his cheek. This time, when the wax hits his skin, Jeonghan kisses him. He only allows a little to pool above Vernon’s clavicle before he lets up, but the effect is three times as strong as before, especially when Jeonghan’s tongue is in his mouth, when Jeonghan’s teeth are closing around his lower lip.

“Can I do you?” Vernon asks, and Jeonghan nods. He strips off his own shirt and hands Vernon the candle, and now Vernon’s _really_ shaking, so he tries to take a steadying breath.

“Hey,” Jeonghan says, “we can stop if you want to.”

Vernon shakes his head. “No. I’m just. Wow. It’s a lot. But I want to.”

Jeonghan smiles, pushing up to meet Vernon’s lips again. Vernon kisses him, kisses him, kisses him until he becomes languid and warm and needy. He pours a few drops along Jeonghan’s collarbone, leaving a trail to his shoulder, then he retraces it. Jeonghan shivers, and when Vernon puts the candle back on the table, he’s pulled back against Jeonghan’s body. The sensation of Jeonghan’s skin against his adds yet another layer to the overwhelm, not to mention how Jeonghan’s hands feel running all over his back, his ribs, his hips. He’s just about to suggest that they move to Vernon’s room when Jeonghan pulls back suddenly, eyes wide and facing the window.

“Fuck,” he says.

“What?”

“That sounds like Soonyoung.”

A car door shuts from outside and voices drift through the window, undoubtedly belonging to Soonyoung and Seokmin.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Vernon scrambles for his shirt, which was thrown somewhere in the darkness surrounding the couch, and frantically pulls it on. “What are they doing back here?”

Jeonghan’s attempting to scrape the stray drips of wax off of the wood floor, to no avail. “Hell if I know.”

When the door opens, Vernon’s sitting on the couch, knees drawn up to hide where he’s still half-hard. Jeonghan is on the floor, the picture of innocence, his fingers playing in the pool of wax around the candle.

“Whoa, why’s it so dark in here?” Soonyoung asks as he strides in, heading toward the hall. “Forgot my meds, by the way. Sorry. Don’t we have a camping lantern?”

“Mood lighting,” Jeonghan says, waving at his back with one wax-covered finger. “Hi, Seokmin.”

“Hi, guys.” Seokmin tries to be cheerful but he looks exhausted. Vernon frowns.

“How’ve you been holding up?”

“Ah, I’ve been worse. It’s always better with company.”

“Hey,” Soonyoung says, peering at Vernon as he reenters the living room. “What the hell is that on your arm?”

“Oh, it—it’s just—”

“We were just fucking around with the candles,” Jeonghan cuts in smoothly. “Bored. Y’know.”

Soonyoung looks back and forth between the two of them, brows drawn together. He opens his mouth, closes it. Then he shrugs.

“Okay! Well, we’re gonna dip. See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

The silence turns heavy as soon as they’re out the door. Jeonghan meets Vernon’s eyes again, and all at once Vernon’s senses are at attention, his skin prickling from the tips of his fingers to the back of his neck.

“So,” Jeonghan begins, that sweet, devilish little smile sitting proudly on his mouth, “my bed or yours?”

**Author's Note:**

> [twt](https://twitter.com/jooniedimpss)
> 
> also omg sorry i cut it short. i ended up working on this all day instead of the gyuhao i promised you all sdhfjkl


End file.
